Manager Lee Sinnott has launched an urgent quest for defensive reinforcements after Altrincham's first league win of the season was marred by a serious injury to Tom Marshall.

The Robins put in an excellent performance to win 2-1 at home to promotion hopefuls Grimsby in the Vanarama National League, although Marshall was stretchered off.

After appearing to get his studs caught in the turf as he tried to turn, the Alty centre-half was treated for nearly 10 minutes before being taken by ambulance to Wythenshawe Hospital.

It was later confirmed he had dislocated his ankle and broken his fibula, and although that is not as serious as breaking the tibia, Marshall still faces a long road back to fitness and will miss the next few months.

In a sickening coincidence, Alty's reserves midfielder Matt Christie suffered a compound fracture of his leg after 12 minutes of their game with Middlewich the same evening. The injury was so bad the Cheshire League One fixture was abandoned.

With centre-back Luca Havern still a month away from fitness with a hamstring injury, Sinnott is scouring the transfer market ahead of Saturday’s trip to Dover.

IN PICTURES: ALTRINCHAM 2 GRIMSBY 1

“We are going to have to seriously look at bringing someone in, because it’s a bad injury to Tom and Luca is looking at another three or four weeks before he’s ready,” said the Alty boss.

“It seemed like Tom got his studs stuck, and it didn’t look good at all. There was a lot of concern, and we can only wish him well.

“He had stood up to the challenge Grimsby posed really well and I thought it was the best he has defended all season. People were shouting for help as soon as he went down, we can only wish him a speedy recovery.

“It leaves us light, so we will have to address that. Jake Moult can slot into the back line alongside Scott Leather, as he did when Tom went off, but we will be looking to get someone in.”

Alty went ahead twice, new striker George Bowerman scoring both goals, and the Robins withstood a late aerial barrage during 12 minutes of added time to register their first points and move off the bottom of the table.

“To be fair, Grimsby could have put the game to bed when they had a spell of pressure early in the second half, but full credit to the players for sticking at it and doing their jobs so well,” Sinnott added.

“They should be proud of themselves for not wilting and coming back at Grimsby so strongly after that. They will gain confidence from this, but it is important they use that to put more points on the board.”